Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.89 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
May all the gods bring us blessings! May the Viśvedevas, the Universal Ones, turn their faces toward us in mercy. We stand as supplicants before the assembled host of heaven. We offer our prayers with humble hearts. We ask not for wealth or dominion, but only for the grace and favor of the divine.
Mitra and Varuṇa, keepers of cosmic order! Vāyu the wind-god! Agni the fire eternal! Soma the divine draught! Sūrya the golden sun! Hear us in our prayer. Thy might is beyond reckoning. Thy wisdom is beyond understanding. Yet thou dost deign to listen to the voices of mortals who dwell below.
Grant us, we beseech thee, health and strength. Grant us long life and prosperity. Keep our children safe from harm. Let sickness pass over our homes. Let our enemies be confounded. Let our crops grow tall and abundant. Let our herds multiply beyond numbering. Let our fires burn bright and warm.
We offer unto thee the finest gifts that we possess. We pour forth our soma. We kindle our flames. We chant our hymns. These are but small tokens of our devotion, yet we do offer them with sincerity and love. In return, we ask only for thy blessing and thy protection.
O Viśvedevas, thou gathered ones! O assembly of gods! Accept our prayers. Hear our voices rising up from this mortal realm. Turn not thy faces from us. Grant unto us thy favor. Be unto us as loving fathers. Watch over us through the nights and days. Guard us from all that would harm us. Make us worthy of thy divine grace and eternal blessing.
Colophon
Rigveda I.89 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.89
ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo yantu viśvato 'dabdhāso aparītāsa udbhidaḥ |
devā no yathā sadam id vṛdhe asann aprāyuvo rakṣitāro dive-dive || 1 ||
devānām bhadrā sumatir ṛjūyatāṁ devānāṁ rātir abhi no ni vartatām |
devānāṁ sakhyam upa sedimā vayaṁ devā na āyuḥ pra tirantu jīvase || 2 ||
tān pūrvayā nividā hūmahe vayam bhagam mitram aditiṁ dakṣam asridham |
aryamaṇaṁ varuṇaṁ somam aśvinā sarasvatī naḥ subhagā mayas karat || 3 ||
tan no vāto mayobhu vātu bheṣajaṁ tan mātā pṛthivī tat pitā dyauḥ |
tad grāvāṇaḥ somasuto mayobhuvas tad aśvinā śṛṇutaṁ dhiṣṇyā yuvam || 4 ||
tam īśānaṁ jagatas tasthuṣas patiṁ dhiyaṁjinvam avase hūmahe vayam |
pūṣā no yathā vedasām asad vṛdhe rakṣitā pāyur adabdhaḥ svastaye || 5 ||
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ |
svasti nas tārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ svasti no bṛhaspatir dadhātu || 6 ||
pṛṣadaśvā marutaḥ pṛśnimātaraḥ śubhaṁyāvāno vidatheṣu jagmayaḥ |
agnijihvā manavaḥ sūracakṣaso viśve no devā avasā gamann iha || 7 ||
bhadraṁ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devā bhadram paśyemākṣabhir yajatrāḥ |
sthirair aṅgais tuṣṭuvāṁsas tanūbhir vy aśema devahitaṁ yad āyuḥ || 8 ||
śatam in nu śarado anti devā yatrā naś cakrā jarasaṁ tanūnām |
putrāso yatra pitaro bhavanti mā no madhyā rīriṣatāyur gantoḥ || 9 ||
aditir dyaur aditir antarikṣam aditir mātā sa pitā sa putraḥ |
viśve devā aditiḥ pañca janā aditir jātam aditir janitvam || 10 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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